At least 44 suspected H1N1 cases were reported at several public schools across the Kingdom since classes began Saturday, but the schools remain vigilant, said Sulaiman Al-Shihri, director of Medical Services at the Ministry of Education's Girls Department, on Sunday. On the first day, the schools reported 17 suspected cases of swine flu, said Faisal Bin Mua'mar, Deputy Minister of Education. The schools were not named because of privacy. The deputy minister was speaking at a workshop in Riyadh Sunday on “Education Reform in the Arab States: the Saudi Model.” Over 2.5 million students reported to school on the first day, taking the attendance rate up to 90 percent in public schools and 75 percent in private schools, Bin Mua'mar said. “The overall student health situation is reassuring, however,” he added. Elementary school students will start classes next Saturday as previously scheduled, he said. All students are on the priority list to receive a vaccine when it becomes available, in coordination with the Ministry of Health, he added, urging families to keep their children at home when they suspect flu-like illnesses. While the deputy minister admitted shortage of textbooks at some schools, he declined any shortage in teaching staff with the upcoming announcement of the last batch of newly
